River Road Gallery holds charity show for Lyme disease

Published 12:00 am, Friday, May 12, 2017

Photos from Ron Landis' book, "Shadows of Lyme Disease," are on display at River Road Gallery at 21 River Road, along with the work of local photographer Larry Silver and artist Nash Hyon.

Photos from Ron Landis' book, "Shadows of Lyme Disease," are on display at River Road Gallery at 21 River Road, along with the work of local photographer Larry Silver and artist Nash Hyon.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Photos from Ron Landis' book, "Shadows of Lyme Disease," are on display at River Road Gallery at 21 River Road, along with the work of local photographer Larry Silver and artist Nash Hyon.

Photos from Ron Landis' book, "Shadows of Lyme Disease," are on display at River Road Gallery at 21 River Road, along with the work of local photographer Larry Silver and artist Nash Hyon.

Photo: Contributed Photo

Image 3 of 4

Photos from Ron Landis' book, "Shadows of Lyme Disease," are on display at River Road Gallery at 21 River Road, along with the work of local photographer Larry Silver and artist Nash Hyon.

Photos from Ron Landis' book, "Shadows of Lyme Disease," are on display at River Road Gallery at 21 River Road, along with the work of local photographer Larry Silver and artist Nash Hyon.

Photo: Contributed Photo

Image 4 of 4

Photos included in the River Road Gallery art show benefiting Global Lyme Alliance. Featured artists include Larry Silver, of Westport; Ron Landis, of Westport; and Nash Hyon, of Wilton.

Photos included in the River Road Gallery art show benefiting Global Lyme Alliance. Featured artists include Larry Silver, of Westport; Ron Landis, of Westport; and Nash Hyon, of Wilton.

Photo: Contributed Photo

River Road Gallery holds charity show for Lyme disease

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WILTON — One night, Ron Landis woke up and his sheets were saturated with his own sweat.

The air conditioning was on, so he thought maybe he had an overactive metabolism.

But the problem persisted and he didn’t know why.

After multiple blood tests, MRIs and other medical analyses, the doctors couldn’t come up with the cause of his symptoms either. Then came problems with arrhythmia, joint pain, vertigo and a set of other seemingly unrelated symptoms.

Following more blood tests and subsequent examinations, a different doctor told him that such changes were just signs of aging.

“It was one thing after another,” Landis, of Westport, said. “My instincts told me these things are happening too suddenly.”

Landis, 69, was officially diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012. Though prior blood tests came back negative for the tick-borne disease, his internist explained to him that the standard Lyme disease test is 50 to 55 percent accurate, which contributes to misdiagnosis in some cases; Landis believes he suffered from the disease for at least a decade before his diagnosis.

Landis has been in remission since 2014, but he now suffers from chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, which most likely developed from his prolonged treatment. This autoimmune disease flourishes on its own, he said, requiring him to undergo a five-hour immunoglobulin transfusion every Tuesday and Thursday every other week.

Still, Landis considers himself lucky.

“There are people who have Lyme disease whose central nervous system has been attacked far worse,” Landis said. “And the sad thing about Lyme disease is that it’s not as well understood, not only in the general public, but also in the medical community.”

To help raise awareness about the disease, Landis recently self-published a photo essay book detailing his journey through the illness.

The book, “Shadows of Lyme Disease,” is meant to encourage those directly or indirectly affected by the disease, he said, and to offer an inside look of how powerful the disease can be for those who don’t have a direct connection to it.

Each year, about 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to CDC by state health departments and the District of Columbia — though the CDC estimates that number is probably closer to 300,000.

Landis’ book is on display at River Road Gallery in Wilton, alongside the work of two other local artists the gallery represents. Proceeds from the show will benefit the Global Lyme Alliance, a leading private nonprofit in the U.S. dedicated to raising awareness about the disease and to finding a cure and accurate test.

The show was organized in recognition of May being Lyme Disease Awareness Month, said Pat Blossom, who’s worked at the gallery for seven years.

“If no funds are raised to help do the research and to prevent an epidemic, we’ll be lost,” Blossom said. “So everybody has to do a little bit and this is our way of doing something.”

The art show also features the work of longtime photographer Larry Silver, 82, who was diagnosed with Lyme disease less than a year ago. Though he was fortunate enough to receive quick treatment, he knows how debilitating Lyme disease can be through his friends whose lives were changed by it, and sometimes even ruined, he said.

“And I feel that I would like to try to help in some way or another to do research and find a cure for this problem,” Silver, of Westport, said.

River Road Gallery also approached award-winning artist Nash Hyon to showcase her photography and encaustic work at the show. Though the Wilton artist doesn’t have a direct connection to the disease, she said the experiences of her loved ones motivate her to bring more awareness in the community.

“Many of my friends have had problems with Lyme disease as well as my parents. So, it’s something I’m very aware of,” Hyon said. “Everything involving this problem needs more money to hopefully find a solution.”

The show runs through June 17 at 21 River Road. For more information, call 203-762-3887.